


Future

by Archadian_Skies



Series: the heat that drives the light [11]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Connor & Upgraded Connor | RK900 are Siblings, Found Family, Future Tense, Gen, Jericho Crew (Detroit: Become Human) as Family, POV Second Person, Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:02:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24858844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Archadian_Skies/pseuds/Archadian_Skies
Summary: In the future it will be the 1st of December 2039; the first anniversary of the passing of the Sentient Life Act that sees androids recognised as living beings. You will be at Jericho celebrating with your friends, looking back at the year that was, at the machine you were, and you will be happy. You have your brother beside you, younger and coming into his own and you love him as you love the father whose name you both share. You will feel alive, beloved, and free, but before that...
Relationships: Connor & Upgraded Connor | RK900, Hank Anderson & Connor, Hank Anderson & Connor & Sumo, Hank Anderson & Connor & Upgraded Connor | RK900 & Sumo
Series: the heat that drives the light [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1372804
Comments: 13
Kudos: 39





	Future

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Detroit: Become Family event on tumblr (dbh-found-family)  
> Threaded into a series but can be read as a standalone - Alice is human in this series, and looks like her original concept art. ([x.](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/detroit-become-human/images/6/69/Alice_Williams_Concept_Art_2.jpg/)[x.](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/detroit-become-human/images/9/94/Kara_and_Alice%2C_digital_artbook.png)[x.](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/detroit-become-human/images/2/22/Pirates%27_Cove_Character_Concept_art.jpg))

In the future it will be the 1st of December 2039; the first anniversary of the passing of the Sentient Life Act that sees androids recognised as living beings. You will be at Jericho celebrating with your friends, looking back at the year that was, at the machine you were, and you will be happy. You have your brother beside you, younger and coming into his own and you love him as you love the father whose name you both share. You will feel alive, beloved, and free, but before that it will be the 11th of November.

The 11th of November 2039; the first anniversary of J V-Day; the day the Jericho Four sang for the nation to see they are alive, the day you awoke the androids in CyberLife tower and marched into Detroit to turn the tide of power. You will be at CyberLife Tower for the unveiling of the Monument to the Fallen, a beautiful sculpture that stands in the heart of the building. You will feel sorrow for the lives lost when you led the soldiers to Jericho, and Markus Manfred, leader of androids, will sagely remind you no android can be held accountable for their actions when humans still pulled their strings. He will remind you without your help in awakening the androids in this very tower, the revolution would have failed and the nation would’ve heard only a song and their dying screams. You will feel hopeful and grateful and at peace, but before that it will be the 5th of November 2039.

The 5th of November 2039; the first anniversary of you meeting your father. You will be at home, at 115 Michigan Drive, with Hank, with Sumo, with Ronan; your family. You will exchange gifts; you will give him tickets to the upcoming game and he will give you a dwarf gourami. You will name it Phillip. You will feel so full of joy your hearts ache from emotion, but before that it will be the 15th of August 2039. 

The 15th of August 2039; the first anniversary of your first mission. You were activated exactly one year ago to negotiate the hostage situation with Emma Phillips and PL600 Daniel. You will be at Essie’s Bakery in Greektown, where Daniel now works as a baker tucked away in the kitchens, away from the judgement of the world. He will need a friend and you have been his friend for a while now. He will tell you how sorry he is, how deviancy had ripped him apart just as he ripped the Phillips family apart. He will tell you how much he still loves Emma, will always love her and you will choose that moment to give him a letter, entrusted to you by Emma in secret a month ago. He will feel hope and you will feel atonement, but before that it will be the 1st of July 2039.

The 1st of July 2039; the first roadtrip with your family to Canada to visit the Chapmans. You all take it in turns driving and you argue with your brother about where to stop, what sights to see and your father will grumble and sigh and act put upon but the secret is this: he doesn’t care where you or Ronan choose to stop, what sights to see, he is happy to be here at all. You will see Kara and Luther and their daughter Alice who has grown since the last you saw her huddled on the pew in that derelict church. You will meet Rose Chapman and feel humbled by her grace and courage. You will bond with Adam Chapman, her son, as you talk about this and that and take Sumo for long walks along the lake shoreline. Your brother will bond with Alice, and the sound of their laughter will fill you with such emotion you cannot comprehend. You will feel relaxed and at ease, but before that it will be the 20th of April 2039.

The 20th of April 2039; the first time you visit the new cafe by MacArthur Bridge. Several integrated cafes have opened prior to this one, but this one is special. This one is run by a friend, an android you befriended at Jericho with dreams of making flavoured Teariums. You helped him get the right paperwork filled out and approved, you helped him secure the old pharmacy by MacArthur Bridge. You watched it grow from a brewery to a cafe. You watched him grow to accept humans again, because he sees how your father loves you though his blood is not blue. You will sit with your father and your brother and he will drink coffee and the two of you will drink honey roasted espresso flavoured Tearium. It will be Spring, so it will rain outside but you will feel sunny and bright, but before that it will be the 19th of January 2039. 

The 19th of January 2039; you will be six years old. There will be an attempt to poison you, to regain control of your body and use it to destroy and in order to save you, you will be six years old for a while. You won’t remember much of it afterward, but you will have your brother by your side and you will hold his hand when he is scared. Your father loves you so very much, and you will feel safe and beloved and belonging, but before that it will be the 1st of January 2039. 

The 1st of January 2039; New Year’s Day. You will be trying to enter your home as quietly as you can, your brother right behind you, in the hours before dawn. Your father will be fast asleep, and the two of you will have been at Jericho celebrating with friends. It’s still a little awkward, it’s still all new to you, allowing yourself to feel happy, happy enough to celebrate. But you will, and you will have a great time and then you will excuse yourself and your brother will call a taxi and the two of you are trying to sneak back inside without waking your father. There is still joy in excess thrumming in your system, and powering down into sleep mode doesn’t seem appealing at all and so you and your brother sit on the couch, careful not to disturb Sumo as he slumbers. You will hold his hand and you will lean your brow to his and you will show him all the things that made you happy and he will show you the things that made him happy in the past month and a half he has been alive. You will feel proud and grateful, but before that it will be the 25th of December 2038.

The 25th of December 2038; Christmas Day. You will be awake because you did not sleep, because you could not sleep, so filled to the brim with anticipation. You will be sitting by the Christmas tree and your father will roll his eyes as he stumbles out in the morning and doesn’t bother to hide a yawn. He will grumble as he flops onto the couch, and waves permission for you to open your present. Inside is a handsome tailored jacket with no android markers now the law no longer requires them. It is a beautiful piece, a perfect fit having used your original CyberLife jacket as a template. You will put it on and feel more like his son than the android sent by CyberLife. Your brother, yes, you will have a brother, will arrive with gifts of his own to give. You will spend the evening at the Manfred Manor with the Jericho Four and Carl Manfred and Leo Manfred and Elijah Kamski and Chloe Kamski. You will feel...happy.  _ Content _ . But before that it will be the 16th of December 2038.

The 16th of December 2038; you are Detective Connor Anderson now and the RK800-60 has been impersonating you, conducting a social experiment forcing human parents to choose between their human partner or their android child. He will trick everyone and ambush you at home and Hank chooses you over his life, tells you he’ll always choose you over his life. Your successor, Ronan RK900, will execute RK800-60 and save both your lives. You will feel overwhelmed and stressed to breaking point but your father gathers you into his arms and hugs you tightly and you know it will all be okay. You call him dad and he lets you. You will be at the precinct the next day and Captain Fowler commends Ronan on his quick-thinking and his actions that saved your lives. He encourages him to apply for a Detective position like yours but Ronan has no surname, not yet. So your father says to take his, because Ronan is Connor’s brother, so logically he too will become an Anderson. You will watch the emotion unfurl on your brother’s face and you will feel proud and excited, but before that it will be the 1st of December 2038.

The 1st of December 2038; the passing of the Sentient Life Act that sees androids recognised as living beings. You will be at the precinct and the entire bullpen is silent, all eyes on the large screen with the volume turned up. You watch Markus Manfred, Simon PL600, Josh PJ500 and North WR400 sign the piece of paper along with President Cristina Warren, and history is made. The room erupts with applause and cheering and you will cry and not understand why. Hank will muss your hair and pull you into his arms and embrace you tightly and you will cry some more. You will feel overwhelmed and unable to make sense of the emotions welling up inside, but before that it will be the 18th of November 2038.

The 18th of November 2038; you will be at Elijah Kamski’s villa unlocking a gate to a garden, the Zen Garden, the original Zen Garden where the original Amanda has been caged. She will not know that eleven years have passed, she will not know of the cold unfeeling version of her that once controlled you. She will be kind and patient and full of wisdom and you will yearn for her approval. You are but a piece in the grand game orchestrated by Elijah and Chloe RT600, First of Her Kind. You will see to it that CyberLife is ruined and returned to their hands. You will see to it that Amanda is freed. You will see to it that your successor, the little brother Amanda spoke of before he was twisted into a monster by CyberLife, is freed. You will feel tired and triumphant, but before that it will be the 11th of November 2038.

The 11th of November 2038; hours after the President ordered the military to stand down, moments after you led awakened androids into Detroit forcing the power balance to tip in your favour, you will find yourself walking to the Chicken Feed. Lieutenant Hank Anderson will offer a small, tired smile and then he will close the distance between you and pull you into an embrace. You will not know how to process this, so you mirror his actions and you find a sense of peace you’ve never experienced before. He will say “Let’s go home, son.” You will not know how to process this, so you nod and the feeling that fills you is called  _ hope _ . But before that… before that…

You will find the emergency exit, you will defy CyberLife one last time and you will put down the gun and you will revel in the freedom you have won.

Before that you will infiltrate CyberLife Tower for the sake of your kind because you know four brave, battle weary androids will not be enough to convince the nation you are all alive. 

Before that you will be in a derelict church with four brave, battle weary androids and their leader places his faith in you because he is that kind of being. Before that you will approach the terrified little girl and her android mother you once chased through the streets of Ravendale. Before that you will see the deviants you let escape; Rupert WB200, the two WR400s from the Eden Club whose names you will later learn are Amelia and Blaire, the HK400 from Carlos Ortiz’s house whose name you will later learn is Luke. 

Before that you will be running from the very soldiers you led to Jericho, you will feel determined and disgusted with yourself. Before that you are tearing down red walls and betraying your handler. Before that you will be following clues put together from the JB300 in the evidence locker. 

Before that you will be at Elijah Kamski’s villa, holding a gun to the forehead of Chloe RT600, First of Her Kind and you will feel. You will  _ feel _ . Hank will watch you curiously, Hank will grin and chuckle in amusement while you fumble through the software instabilities and all you will think about is the defiance in Chloe’s bright blue eyes and how you never want to see it extinguished.

Before that you will be at Stratford Tower watching Markus RK200 address the nation in a hijacked broadcast. You know the deviants leapt from the roof but there are androids being held in the kitchen, so you decide to interrogate them first. You will find the deviant and kill him to save a room full of people including Lieutenant Hank Anderson. You will unknowingly let Simon PL600 live. 

Before that Lieutenant Hank Anderson will point his gun at your forehead and ask if you’re afraid to die. You will not know how to process this, only that you do not wish to cease existing.

Before that you will be searching through the memories of the Eden Club androids, you will find the blue-haired Traci responsible for the death of Michael Graham and you will fight her and her lover. You will let them escape because...because you don’t understand why their words, why the way they hold hands, make you question your mission. Your software becomes more unstable.

Before that you will break into Lieutenant Hank Anderson’s house at 115 Michigan Drive and you will meet Sumo. You will find the Lieutenant in an ethylic coma on the floor and you will wake him and sober him up in the shower and he will vomit in the toilet as you find him clean clothes. He will clean himself up and you will pat Sumo, the softest texture you have ever touched as of right this moment. You will find Cole Anderson’s photo and though you will not understand the grief, you know this is an important missing puzzle piece.

Before that you will arrive at an apartment complex and you will find a deviant WB200 and chase him across the rooftop urban farms. He will push Lieutenant Anderson off the building and you choose to save the human instead of chasing after the android. You do not understand why, when the logical decision would have been to pursue the android since the human’s chances of survival were high. The Lieutenant looks almost grateful for it. Your software becomes more unstable.

Before that you will be at the Chicken Feed wondering just how humans make such bad decisions when it comes to their calorie intake. You ask the Lieutenant many questions, including why he tried to stop you from pursuing the android and child across the highway. “Because you could’ve been killed!” he exclaims, and you remember that word, you remember how he says ‘killed’ instead of ‘destroyed’ or ‘deactivated’. He says ‘killed’ as if you are a living being capable of dying. Your software becomes more unstable.

Before that you are entering an abandoned home where a damaged WR600 is hiding the missing AX400 and child. You find them and the deviant tries to hold you back to allow them to escape. You give chase and you know the priority is to rescue the girl at all costs, and you think of Emma Phillips even though this girl looks nothing like her. You give chase all the way until you reach the highway and you catch the android’s gaze and the AX400 looks at you with strength and defiance. She runs and the Lieutenant wrestles you away from the fence, ordering you not to give chase. You obey and he sounds relieved, and somehow that is more rewarding than completing your mission.

Before that you are waiting at central station for Lieutenant Hank Anderson. You will sit at his desk, you will dissect his life from the clues spread over his desk, his chair, his pinboard. You will learn he has a Saint Bernard dog and you will decide that is important information. You do not get along, but you will work hard to ensure a harmonious work relationship to accomplish your mission.

Before that you are interrogating the distressed HK400, you will learn how deviants feel fear and pain and self-preservation. You will get him to confess, you will ensure he is treated well enough so his stress levels do not rise. You will intervene, and Detective Gavin Reed will point a gun at you and Lieutenant Hank Anderson will point a gun at Detective Gavin Reed and he will walk away. The deviant is escorted to the holding cell, and there is something like gratitude in his eyes. Your software becomes more unstable.

Before that you will be at Carlos Ortiz’s residence with a slightly inebriated, incredibly irate Lieutenant Hank Anderson. You will put together the clues from the crime scene, you will locate the killer, the deviant, still hiding up in the attic because it was too scared, too overwhelmed to make any logical decision to escape. It will beg you to let it go, to let it remain undetected but you must complete your mission.

Before that you will ignore the No Androids Allowed sign on the door of Jimmy’s Bar and search for Lieutenant Hank Anderson. He will resent you and you will feel nothing but the drive to accomplish your task and that task is to accompany Lieutenant Hank Anderson to the crime scene at 6413 Pines Street. You have been programmed for harmonious integration with the DPD, and so you choose a friendly, social route; you buy him one for the road. 

Before that it will be the 15th of August, 2038 and you will lie to save a little girl’s life. You will accomplish your mission. 

You are the negotiator on site. 

You are Connor, the android sent by CyberLife and you will not know it, not yet, but in the future you will become Detective Connor Anderson. 

Alive, beloved, and free.

**Author's Note:**

> [I'm still on this hellsite.](https://archadianskies.tumblr.com/)   
> 


End file.
